1. Technical Field
The invention is related to object recognition systems, and more particularly to a system and process for recognizing objects in an image using binary image quantization and Hough kernels.
2. Background Art
Recent efforts in the field of object recognition in images have been focused on developing processes especially suited for finding everyday objects in a so-called intelligent environment monitored by color video cameras. An intelligent environment in simple terms is a space, such as a room in a home or office, in which objects and people are monitored, and actions are taken automatically based on what is occurring in the space. Some examples of the actions that may be taken, which would require the ability to recognize objects, include:    Customizing a device's behavior based on location. A keyboard near a computer monitor could direct its input to the application(s) on that monitor. A keyboard in the hands of a particular user could direct its input to that user's application(s), and it could invoke that user's preferences (e.g., repeat rate on keys).    Finding lost objects in a room like a television remote control.    Inferring actions and intents by identifying objects that are being used by person. A user picking up a book probably wants to read, and the lights and music could be adjusted appropriately.
Unfortunately, existing object recognition algorithms that could be employed for use in an intelligent environment are not written with a normal consumer in mind. This has lead to programs that would be impractical to use for a mass market audience. These impracticalities include speed of execution, elaborate training rituals, and the setting of numerous adjustable parameters.
It is believed that for an object recognition program to be generally acceptable to a typical person who would like to benefit from an intelligent environment, it would have to exhibit the following attributes. Besides the usual requirements for being robust to background clutter and partial occlusion, a desirable object recognition program should also run at moderate speeds on relatively inexpensive hardware. The program should also be simple to train and the number of parameters that a user would be expected to set should be kept to a minimum.
The present invention provides an object recognition system and process that exhibits the foregoing desired attributes.
It is noted that in the remainder of this specification, the description refers to various individual publications identified by a numeric designator contained within a pair of brackets. For example, such a reference may be identified by reciting, “reference [1]” or simply “[1]”. Multiple references will be identified by a pair of brackets containing more than one designator, for example, [1, 2]. A listing of the publications corresponding to each designator can be found at the end of the Detailed Description section.